Test Wendy

Data extracted in August 2023

Planned article update: 22 September 2023

Highlights

In May 2023, 80 375 first-time asylum seekers applied for international protection in the EU.

In May 2023, the largest groups of persons seeking asylum in the EU were Syrians (12 110) and Afghans (7 210).

In May 2023, most unaccompanied minors who applied for asylum came from Afghanistan (985) and Syria (870).

This article describes recent developments in relation to the number of asylum applicants in the European Union (EU). Asylum is a form of international protection given by a state on its territory. It is granted to a person who is unable to seek protection in their country of citizenship and/or residence, in particular for fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.

The legal basis for the asylum data collection is the Regulation (EC) No 862/2007. The amendment to this regulation adopted in June 2020 introduced additional new statistics. It increased the frequency, timeliness and the level of detail of the statistics from reference year 2021, including more frequent and detailed information on unaccompanied minors who represent a particularly vulnerable group seeking protection. In addition, Eurostat started to collect data on subsequent asylum applicants, on asylum applications under accelerated procedure, on applicants benefiting from material reception conditions and on types of withdrawals of asylum applications. The datasets with the new statistics are continuously published in the Eurostat database and some of these new data are included in this article.

Full article

Main trends in the number of asylum applicants

In May 2023, there were 80 375 first-time asylum applicants ^[1] (non-EU citizens) applying for international protection in reporting Member States. Compared with May 2022 (63 455), it represents a 27 % increase. Compared with April 2023 (68 480), it represents a 17 % increase.

In May 2023, there were 5 325 subsequent applicants, a 16% decrease compared with May 2022 (6 370). Compared with April 2023 (5 290), it represents a 1 % increase (Figure 1).

The majority of the first-time asylum applicants were men aged between 18 and 34 years, who accounted for 40 % of the total number of first-time applicants (Figure 2). The proportion of boys and girls aged less than 14 years was similar, while most minors aged 14-17 years were boys.

Figure 1: First-time and subsequent asylum applicants in the EU, January 2019 - May 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

Figure 2: First-time asylum applicants in the EU by age and sex in May 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

In May 2023, the EU total of first-time asylum applicants was 179 per million people (Figure 3). Compared with the population of each EU country (on 1 January 2023), the highest rate of registered first-time applicants in May 2023 was recorded in Cyprus (1 092 applicants per million people), ahead of Austria (448). By contrast, the lowest rate was observed in Hungary (0.2).

Figure 3: Number of first-time asylum applicants per million people, May 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm) and (demo_gind)

Where do asylum applicants come from?

As in the previous months, in May 2023, Syrians were the largest group of people seeking asylum (12 110 first-time applicants). They were followed by Afghans (7 210), Venezuelans (7 015) and Colombians (6 745) (Figure 4).

Following Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, there was a significant increase in Ukrainian first-time asylum applicants (from 2 100 in February 2022 to 12 185 in March 2022), but the numbers have been decreasing monthly, down to 945 in May 2023. This is also because people fleeing Ukraine benefit from temporary protection. In May 2023, the number of first-time asylum applicants with Russian citizenship ranked 14th among all citizenships, with 1 435 applications.

Figure 4: Share of citizenship in first-time asylum applicants in the EU, May 2022 - May 2023 (%)
Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

Where did asylum applicants make their application?

In May 2023, Germany (23 235), Spain (17 405), Italy (11 045) and France (10 850) received the highest number of first-time asylum applicants, accounting for almost three-quarters (78 %) of all first-time applicants in the EU (Map 1). Data for every reporting country over time can be consulted using the dynamic chart at the beginning of the article or by accessing a dynamic version of the map below (Map 1).

Map 1: First-time asylum applications in the EU Member States in May 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

Figure 5: Relative change in first-time asylum applications in reporting countries between April 2023 and May 2023 (%)
Source: Eurostat (migr_asyappctzm)

Applications by unaccompanied minors

Where do unaccompanied minors come from?

An unaccompanied minor is a person aged less than 18 years who arrives on the territory of an EU Member State not accompanied by an adult responsible for the minor or a minor who is left unaccompanied after having entered the territory of a Member State. In May 2023, 3 065 unaccompanied minors applied for asylum for the first time in the EU, mostly from Afghanistan (985) and Syria (870) (Figure 6).

Figure 6: Top ten citizenships of unaccompanied minors applying for asylum for the first time in the EU, May 2023 (%)
Source: Eurostat (migr_asyumactm)

Where do unaccompanied minors go to make their application?

The EU countries which received the highest number of asylum applications from unaccompanied minors in May 2023 were Germany (1 200), ahead of the Netherlands (410) and Austria (405) (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Unaccompanied minors who applied for asylum in Member States over the last twelve months
Source: Eurostat (migr_asyumactm)

Applications under the accelerated procedure

In 2021, Eurostat started collecting new data on asylum applications under an accelerated procedure ^[2]. Article 31(8) of the Directive 2013/32/EU identifies ten grounds where the accelerated procedure may be applied, and thus where an EU Member State may reject a claim as manifestly unfounded. This concerns, for instance, cases where the applicant has only raised issues not relevant to refugee or subsidiary protection status, or if the applicant comes from a "safe country of origin" or where the applicant refuses to be fingerprinted. Figure 8 presents the number of applicants who had their applications processed under the accelerated procedure. Over the last twelve months, the highest numbers of such applications were registered in Italy, France and Austria. In May 2023, France (3 685) registered the highest number of applications, ahead of Italy (1 045) and Austria (810).

Figure 8: Applications processed under the accelerated procedure over the last twelve months
Source: Eurostat (migr_asyaccm)

Pending applications

Pending applications for international protection are those that have been made at any time and are still under consideration by the relevant national authorities at the end of the reference period. In other words, they refer to the number of applications for which decisions are still pending. Figure 9 shows the number of applications for asylum protection in the EU Member States under consideration by the national authorities (so called 'pending application') over the last twelve months. Map 2 shows the number of pending applications in reporting countries. In May 2023, Germany had the highest numbers of pending applications, ahead of France and Spain. Details for each reporting country are available in the interactive map of the data browser.

Figure 9: Pending asylum applications for review in the EU over the last twelve months
Source: Eurostat (migr_asypenctzm)

Map 2: Persons with asylum applications pending at the end of May 2023
Source: Eurostat (migr_asypenctzm)

Data sources

The data used for this publication are provided to Eurostat by the interior and justice ministries or immigration agencies of the EU Member States and EFTA countries. Data on asylum applications are collected monthly. They are based entirely on relevant administrative sources and supplied in accordance with the provisions of Article 4 of the Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 of 11 July 2007 on Community statistics on migration and international protection.

For April and May 2023, as data for first-time and subsequent asylum applicants were not available for Czechia, March 2023 data were used; as data for pending applications for Czechia were not available for March, April and May 2023, February data were used.

For May 2023, as data for first-time asylum applicants were not available for Lithuania, April 2023 data were used.

Until February 2023, data for Croatia cover officially expressed intentions for international protection at border crossing and not only asylum applicants who actually lodged an asylum application. Therefore, current statistics may overestimate the number of applicants. Eurostat is currently discussing improvements of statistics and a revision of data is possible.

Statistics on asylum applicants considered to be unaccompanied minors presented in the article refer to the age accepted by the national authorities, however this is before the age assessment procedure was carried out/completed (i.e. it refers to the age as claimed by the applicant). Data on unaccompanied minor asylum applicants for France are not available. Due to temporary derogations, data on unaccompanied minor asylum applicants for Cyprus and Poland are not available. As a result, these Member States were not included in the calculation. A complete list of derogations is provided in the Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2021/431.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and the related introduction of movement restrictions and border closures, some countries applied administrative measures such as temporary closure of asylum authorities, suspension of asylum interviews and suspension of lodging applications, which resulted in a drop in the number of asylum applications in 2020.

Data presented in this publication are rounded to the nearest five.

Context

The 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees (as amended by the 1967 New York Protocol) has, for over 70 years, defined who is a refugee, and laid down a common approach towards refugees which has been one of the cornerstones for the development of a common asylum system within the EU. Since 1999, the EU has been working towards creating a common European asylum regime in accordance with the Geneva Convention and other applicable international instruments. The Directorate-General Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME) is responsible for developing EU policies on asylum. A number of directives in this area have been developed. The four main legal instruments on asylum are:

the Qualification Directive 2011/95/EU on standards for the qualification of non-EU nationals and stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection;
the Asylum Procedures Directive 2013/32/EU on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection;
the Reception Conditions Directive 2013/33/EU laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection;
the Dublin Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the EU Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or stateless person.

The Hague programme was adopted by heads of state and government on 5 November 2004. It puts forward the idea of a common European asylum system (CEAS), in particular, it raises the challenge to establish common procedures and uniform status for those granted asylum or subsidiary protection. The European Commission's policy plan on asylum (COM(2008) 360 final) presented in June 2008 included three pillars to underpin the development of the CEAS:

bringing more harmonisation to standards of protection by further aligning the EU Member States' asylum legislation;
effective and well-supported practical cooperation;
increased solidarity and sense of responsibility among EU Member States, and between the EU and non-member countries.

In May 2010, the European Commission presented an action plan for unaccompanied minors (COM(2010) 213 final), who are regarded as the most exposed and vulnerable victims of migration. This plan aims to set up a coordinated approach and commits all EU Member States to grant high standards of reception, protection and integration for unaccompanied minors. In December 2011, the European Commission adopted a Communication on 'Enhanced intra-EU solidarity in the field of asylum' (COM(2011) 835 final). This provided proposals to reinforce practical, technical and financial cooperation, moving towards a better allocation of responsibilities and improved governance of the asylum system in the EU, namely through:

introducing an evaluation and early warning mechanism to detect and address emerging problems;
making the supporting role of the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) more effective;
increasing the amount of funds available and making these more flexible, taking into account significant fluctuations in the number of asylum seekers;
developing and encouraging the relocation of beneficiaries of international protection between different EU Member States.

In September 2020, the European Commission presented the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. This pact provides a comprehensive approach, bringing together policy in the areas of migration, asylum, integration and border management, recognising that the overall effectiveness depends on progress on all fronts. It creates faster, seamless migration processes and stronger governance of migration and borders policies, supported by modern IT systems and more effective agencies. It aims to reduce unsafe and irregular routes and promote sustainable and safe legal pathways for those in need of protection. It reflects the reality that most migrants come to the EU through legal channels, which should be better matched to EU labour market needs.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

On 4 March 2022, the Council unanimously adopted an implementing decision introducing temporary protection due to the mass inflow of persons fleeing Ukraine as a consequence of Russia's invasion.

The activated Temporary Protection Directive provides special procedures to deal with mass inflows of displaced persons for the first time. Temporary protection is an exceptional measure to provide immediate and temporary protection to displaced persons from non-EU countries and those unable to return to their country of origin.

It applies when there is a risk that the standard asylum system is struggling to cope with demand stemming from a mass inflow, risking a negative impact on the processing of claims.

Requirements for reporting such statistics already exist in Article 4(1)(c) and 4(3)(e) of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007. They were implemented for the first time with the transmission of data on international protection as follows:

data for the first quarter of 2022 due by 31 May 2022;
annual data for 2022 – due by 31 March 2023.

However, in order to respond to emerging data needs, in March 2022 Eurostat proposed a voluntary collection of more frequent and timely, in terms of data provisions, statistics on temporary protection starting from reference month March 2022. The following data are collected on a monthly basis with a deadline for provision set within one month of the end of reference period:

monthly data on grants of temporary protection;
monthly data on beneficiaries of valid temporary protection (stocks).

The respective quarterly and monthly datasets are available in the Eurostat database here.

These data are usually compiled and transmitted to Eurostat by national ministries of the interior and/or immigration agencies.

Direct access to

Legislation

the Qualification Directive 2011/95/EU on standards for the qualification of non-EU nationals and stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection (Summary)
the Asylum Procedures Directive 2013/32/EU on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection (Summary)
the Reception Conditions Directive 2013/33/EU laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection (Summary)
the Dublin Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 establishing the criteria and mechanisms for determining the EU Member State responsible for examining an application for international protection lodged in one of the Member States by a third-country national or stateless person

Notes

↑ A first-time applicant for international protection is a person who lodged an application for asylum for the first time in a given EU Member State. The indicator 'First-time asylum applicants' excludes repeat applicants, i.e. persons applying for asylum more than once in one country, and therefore more accurately represents the number of persons applying for international protection in the EU Member States. The use of this indicator is possible as all EU Member States have been able to provide it to Eurostat since 2014.
↑ 'An asylum applicant having had their application processed under the accelerated procedure' means a person having submitted an application for international protection or having been included in such an application as a family member during the reference period and having had their application processed under the accelerated procedure provided for in Article 31(8) of Directive 2013/32/EU (see Art.4.1(e) of the Regulation), if such a procedure is foreseen in the national legislation of the reporting country. It refers to the number of applicants the country has processed - at first instance - under an accelerated procedure during the reference month, regardless of the date of application and of the outcome of the procedure (rejection of the application or grant of a protection status).

[1] A first-time applicant for international protection is a person who lodged an application for asylum for the first time in a given EU Member State. The indicator 'First-time asylum applicants' excludes repeat applicants, i.e. persons applying for asylum more than once in one country, and therefore more accurately represents the number of persons applying for international protection in the EU Member States. The use of this indicator is possible as all EU Member States have been able to provide it to Eurostat since 2014.

[2] 'An asylum applicant having had their application processed under the accelerated procedure' means a person having submitted an application for international protection or having been included in such an application as a family member during the reference period and having had their application processed under the accelerated procedure provided for in Article 31(8) of Directive 2013/32/EU (see Art.4.1(e) of the Regulation), if such a procedure is foreseen in the national legislation of the reporting country. It refers to the number of applicants the country has processed - at first instance - under an accelerated procedure during the reference month, regardless of the date of application and of the outcome of the procedure (rejection of the application or grant of a protection status).

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